There Are 3 Women & 4 Men

by Jaden Payne

Laurent Fontaine has an obsession with spectacle.

That is precisely the reason why he is the most famous art curator of the 20th century and why the Fontaine Museum of Art has more success than any other museum has ever seen. That is, of course, until he shuts it down.

When Laurent’s wife, Marie, is found dead during an exhibition opening at the museum in 1967, the police are quick to determine suicide. Laurent is quick to determine otherwise.

He promptly closes his historic building and halts his highly coveted life in the arts to dedicate the next ten years to one finding the person who killed Marie.

In 1977, exactly ten years after the tragedy, Laurent invites who he found to be the six most likely suspects back into his museum, breaking his silence for the first time in a decade. With the event disguised as a “Grand Reopening,” the guests arrive, and Laurent reveals the none of these misfortunate people will be leaving his palace until justice is served.

But, Laurent Fontaine has an obsession. Is this truly justice, or is there spectacle hidden in revenge? Is this truly an investigation, or is this emperor of art putting on one last performance? How far can Laurent morally push his grand finale?

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Book Club, Murder Mystery, Crime

430 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 6, 2024

About the author

JADEN PAYNE is a designer, writer, and aspiring filmmaker, with graphic design being his current, primary job. He has a BFA in both art and graphic design, as well as a minor in art history.

He’s been writing and creating stories since childhood, having three independent short films on YouTube and, now, one novel.

Jaden currently resides in Michigan with his wonderful wife and continues to strive toward his passion projects of storytelling.

He finds himself most enticed by historical fiction, tight-knit dramas, and character, dialogue-driven projects.

While There Are 3 Women & 4 Men is the largest narrative that Jaden has worked on as of the release of the novel, he absolutely plans to continue making stories of this nature.

You can follow him along that journey @jadenpayneart across social media sites.

Reviews

[emmie · Rating 1 out of 5]

big fat dnf for me :/ bummed because the premise was so interesting but this was so poorly written can we hire an editor next time please

[Sirling Chuah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I needed more showing and less telling

[gillian payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC READER / WIFE

This book has changed the game for me. I am not a mystery/thriller/whodunnit reader but this has absolutely converted me. Not only was this beautifully written, it was as though I was reading a movie. I could see every single detail.

I was rooting for every flawed character in their own messed up way. They truly are people I will never stop thinking about.

This is one of the best reads of 2024, and you HAVE to add this to your tbr. This will be a book club’s favorite book.

[Jaden Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

About a year ago, I had my wife set a parental code to lock me out from accessing Goodreads on my phone, largely because of my inability to stop looking at reviews every hour.

Every now and again, I log in on my laptop (don't tell my wife) to edit my own review to make a new joke.

Don't have a joke this time, just wanted to share that we're adapting this little thing into a film. If that sort of thing interests you, keep an eye out.

Much love,
Jaden

[Elena · Rating 1 out of 5]

Idk I guess I forgot anybody can write a book

[Andrea Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

this review will be a bit different and more in depth because i know for a fact the author reads these (hi jaden, i follow you on tik tok) and i want to be super honest with my thoughts. (how often do you get to share your thoughts on a book with the author??)

overall i really enjoyed myself while reading this. the plot is unique- murder mystery in an art museum, very cool- and i was genuinely invested and surprised by the end. The last 50 pages are verrrry good. i was emotionally involved and felt so deeply for the characters at the climax of the book and it felt like things happened how they should, there was no unnecessary drama that comes with some mystery climaxes.

that being said, i found the pacing of the book to be a bit in and out. one of the reasons for this, in my opinion, is that there are just too many chapters. when i read i want to be sucked into the book and not want to stop, but by having so many 5 page chapters im constantly pausing because that’s the natural tendency during a chapter break. the book was a pretty good length, just wish the chapters weren’t so brief

i also think, and again this is only my opinion, it never got scary enough. i wasn’t on the edge of my seat until the end. i was interested yes, but the stakes were not high enough throughout for me to feel nervous or excited to find out “whodunnit”. this could also be because the main mystery that starts to get solved sort of veers away from the original investigation (the auctions and the car accident etc etc)

i think this author creates characters really well. very believable and well rounded and even the characters seemingly based on stereotypes (celia and, a bit, preston) have a deeper inner life that comes through when we see their perspective. i also really enjoyed the flashback chapters and wish we got them for every character

all in all i liked this book, the cover is cool, the idea is unique, the fact that the author is my age is very impressive and i hope to read more things they write in the future!!!!

[Victoria · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is honestly one of the worst written books I’ve ever read. It’s obvious the author is an artist first, they’re more focused on the art in the story and also using French almost too much??? I just wish they had an editor read this over, there are so many basics of writing structure that my AP ELA teacher in HS would have failed me for, let alone let me publish in a book.

The plot is intriguing in the beginning/when reading the back of the book, but it’s so dry in the book itself. None of the characters are likeable or have any growth, I still don’t know any of their motivations for anything. They try to use metaphors throughout the book, but again, the fact that it’s written so poorly makes it so none of them land in a way that didn’t literally make me cringe.

Overall it just feels like a very badly written book who’s plot can’t overcome the pain it took reading it. It took every ounce of spite in my body to finish the book. I went from possibly recommending it to friends to immediately giving it to a local free library solely so it wouldn’t end up in the trash.

Actually punching the air when there is yet another paragraph that ends with “As it goes.”

[heav (hamilton’s version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 the writing style feels like you’re watching a black and white movie and i loved it sm. what a book!!! despite laurents actions being insane i dont blame him, i need the kind of love he had for marie and i almost shed a couple tears at the end. i didn’t suspect the killer and the story behind it upset me even more

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

this is so shit

[McKinlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been waiting for this to come out since December when I saw it on tik tok. It truly did not disappoint. My only regret is reading it in one day, because now it is over. It is incredibly written and the story unfolds in the least expected way.
I’ve read many mystery/thriller books and this immediately made it in my top 3. A must read

[ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

i really enjoyed this phoebe freeman the woman you are

[Stephanie Poole · Rating 1 out of 5]

As it goes… into the trash.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took me a bit longer to get through than I thought it would. The premise sounds great and I was excited to tuck into a whodunnit mystery...but I walked away thinking I was glad it was finally over. I honestly think this book would be 1000% better as a stage play. Even the title lends itself to the theatre. The redundancy in the writing would be worked out onstage and the pacing would move along nicer. Plus the visual presentation of the museum and art, especially gallery 14, would do wonders onstage! Laurent is a fan of spectacle, so I think this book deserves a better medium.

I assume the powdered sugar is also the reason that the elderly lady died in the theatre. I figured something funky was up with the powdered sugar since attention was given to it, but I didn't put together that it was the source of Marie's death until the end. So I thought the reveal was pretty good.

[Mary Gael]

DNF @ 60%… can’t do it yall

[Cobi · Rating 4 out of 5]

firstly, i really did enjoy this book and think it is a great debut. however, it is incredibly slow going and despite the interrogative nature of the event, it never felt like the stakes were very high. the hidden gun required a bit of suspension of belief because there was really no reason to go along with any of it after that. i think the characters were very dynamic and that’s part of what made the story so gripping, because honestly i did not find myself too interested in who killed Marie. that being said, i loved the ending and thought it was very well done.

[Lauren Marvin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded to 4 stars from 3.5. Enjoyed it, definitely some parts of it that I wish were fleshed out more and some of the plot points were predictable.

[Maria Fatima · Rating 2 out of 5]

"There are some feelings we cannot help but feel, dear," Laurent comforts her. "That doesn't mean we deserve to feel them."

I had expectations for this book, since everyone was hyping it. Unfortunately, this book is dull and lacks excitement. I already know who the killer is, everything is predictable. Hence, I think the reason behind killing Marie is pointless. I wish the author had executed the plot more effectively. There is so much drama that it feels dragged out. I enjoyed the first 10 chapters of this book.

[Caleb Thome · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book that I liked, but I didnt love. I definitely found some spelling errors, which is interesting, and I didn’t really connect with any of the characters that really made me want to root for them, but the story of Laurent Fontaine was definitely fast-moving.

[Renee]

dnf at 7%. the premise was really interesting but the writing looked like it probably needed more editing before actually being published. it kept taking me out of the book and distracting me from the plot

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

the writing feels like you’re experiencing a black and white film. luv violent art & secrets in a museum setting - how exciting.

[Lydia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ik vond het een boeiend en origineel concept en de personages waren heel diepgaand uitgeschreven. Ik kon me dus goed in elk van de personages inleven. Het boek was ook een echte pageturner met veel miniplottwisten in, waardoor ik het ook vrij snel heb uitgelezen.
Er zat echt veel potentieel in het plot, maar uiteindelijk vond ik het einde eigenlijk wat teleurstellend en niet echt verrassend. Had veel meer mee kunnen worden gedaan (bv er gebeurden bepaalde bijzondere dingen in het boek waarvan ik dan dacht dat ze wel naarmate dat het boek vorderde een bedoeling zouden hebben, maar uiteindelijk bleek dat niet zo te zijn) 3/3,5 ⭐️ dus 🤓

[Maya Calvo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVED this book wow. I truly felt like I was watching a movie while reading this. Characters were so fleshed out and even some smaller less important scenes were entertaining. I wish some parts had a little more suspense and thrill but still very enjoyable.

[Ghizlane Hammit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meant for lovers of Wes Anderson.

[Kim Mulder · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reading this felt like a chore…

[Sushmita Chowdhury · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️: 3.5/5

[Tommy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super fun book! Setting was really fun to imagine and dive into and the characters were eccentric in a good way, should definitely be a movie!

[Daniel Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing was a bit clunky at times, very show and not tell, however I still really enjoyed this! I didn’t guess the killer but I did guess one of the big twists so i’ll count that at least 🙂‍↕️

[Jessica Lucido · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

As mentioned in Payne’s About the Author, Payne is a fan of character and dialogue-driven works. Unfortunately, this translates to sections that just tell the plot (you know the old saying, “show, don’t tell”) and then sections that are majority dialogue. The plot had a lot of potential, but it felt like it went off the rails and just barely got back on track toward the end. I think it is obvious that this is the first novel Payne has published, but I wouldn’t discount him. I think there the potential for him to grow as a novelist and storyteller.

[Sarah McClure · Rating 3 out of 5]

well it ain’t no agatha christie i’ll tell you that much

[AJ Huerta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book, nothing really stands out about it though. Felt a little long winded